The Alternate
by Silver Linden
Summary: During the 100 years that Aang was gone, the world thought he was dead, right? Well, the Avatar cycle went on, and a new Avatar was born... a girl named Alrea. Now there are two Avatars...? [AU] [Zuko x OC]
1. It's All in the Past

Disclaimer: We all know that the TV show Avatar: The Last Airbender is a great one, which we all love, right? Well, guess what. I DO NOT own IT or ANY OF THE CHARACTERS. So suck it up and deal, you filthy peasant.

Author's Note: You will see very little of Aang, Katara, and Sokka in this story. So if that's a problem, either leave right now and don't bother me, or suck it up and read on.

**C/A/N: **There is absolutely nothing of the original Avatar characters in this first chapter. In this, I just explain a bit of the background behind my main character, and sort of introduce her a bit. Keep your patience about you please, fasten your seatbelts and keepyour arms and legs outside the vehicle at all times! Thank you, have a good ride!

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Chapter One: It's All in the Past 

_A soft breeze blew across the calm field where two sisters lay side by side in the grass, looking up at the cottony-white clouds drifting overhead in peaceful serenity, simply enjoying each other's company with perpetual smiles playing on their lips. One was somewhere around nineteen or twenty, and the other was almost ten years of age. Despite the gap in age, the two were closer than anything- and why? - Because they had no other family. Earlier than the younger of the two could remember, both of their parents had left their lives, stranding them alone with only each other. The older girl was named Becca; she was a pretty thing with a gentle smile and kind heart. Her sister, Alrea, was the energetic type with a free spirit and strong will. They were the perfect match; where Becca was shy but wise, Alrea was bold and rash. When Becca was weary, Alrea was still brimming with energy. The two were very close, always had been, even before their parents were no longer a part of their lives. Becca had taken care of her younger sibling for seven years so far, and didn't plan on stopping anytime soon._

_But as we all know, plans don't always go the way you want them to._

_Every nice day they could, the two would come to this field and lay together, Alrea listening intently as Becca told her the story of why they were all each other had, or about how things used to be; the happier times, that is. Sometimes, she would sing a song or two that Mother used to sing to them before they went to bed and slept. This day was one of those days, and the young woman sang softly to the girl by her side a lullaby-song of the good findable in every bad, the tune rich and pure, lilting and flowing sweetly in their ears:_

_Broken clouds give rain_

_Broken soil grows grain_

_Broken bread feeds man for one more day_

_Broken storms yield light_

_The break of day heals night_

_Broken pride turns blindness into sight_

_Broken souls that need such mending,_

_Broken hearts with hope that's pending;_

_Could it be that God loves broken things?_

_Broken chains set free_

_Broken swords bring peace_

_Broken walls make friends of you and me_

_Broken lies bring truth_

_Broken tears free mirth_

_Broken war renews the love of all_

_Broken souls that need such mending,_

_Broken hearts with hope that's pending;_

_Could it be that God loves broken things?_

_So, broken cloud- give rain_

_And broken soil- grow grain_

_And broken bread- feed man once more today_

_For, yes, freedom finally came_

_Praise His name-_

_Our God loves broken things_

_Once the song was done, Becca grinned at her little sister as her eyes fluttered but a content smile curled the child's lips. Alrea thought her sister must be the best singer in the world, because she could always feel the love she felt for everyone and everything when she sang. Snuggling close to her dearest sister who had watched over her for all her life, she fell asleep, that little smile still on her face._

_Becca's heart was full of love for her adorable sister, and she lay there silently with the girl's head on her arm for an hour or so, but what happily stretched to years on end. Finally, the older sister gently shook the younger from her doze, whispering that she had to go into town now and buy some more food; the shack-like thing in which they lived was almost completely bare of food in its cupboards, not that there was ever much to speak of. Alrea protested groggily, but Becca lifted her into her arms with slight difficulty- she was not the sporty one of the two- and carried her to their very, _very_ humble home, laying her down in her bed and kissing her forehead before she left._

_A few hours passed, before the nine year old woke again, and the first thing she noticed was that she was hungry. Stumbling out of her bed she made her way to the kitchen mumbling, "Becca?" while rubbing her eyes, only to make the startled realization that her elder sister had not returned. Young Alrea knew that her older sister always went to the same store to buy groceries, because it was particularly less expensive than the others. (The nine year old was an exceptionally observant, curious, and very bright child, and always had been.) So Alrea left the little shack of a home in a hurry, rushing off toward the town, wary of anyone and everyone, as Becca had always told her to be when traveling alone. The road was not very busy that time of day, seeing how it was just before sundown; everyone would be packing up their wares and preparing to return home for the night so they could leave at exactly sunset. That was when the real traffic began, and usually Becca tried to avoid it. Why hadn't she come home yet? Alrea's great imagination and clever mind worked in overtime trying to think of _positive_ reasons why her older sister was so much later than normal. Sooner than later, the little girl had reached town, and dodging rushing customers much belated to going back home, she hurried her way to _"Benji's Grocer"_- the store she and Becca always bought from. It was dark inside, the sign over the stall reading "closed" as the little girl had known it would._

_Beginning to panic, Alrea ran all around town, shouting "Becca! Becca! It's Alrea, where are you?" Tears swelled in her eyes, but she refused to let them spill. Shopkeepers yelled at her to go somewhere else and quit all of that racket, but she would not be forced to do anything until she found her beloved sister. Finally, the sun had long since set, all the bustling beyond the towns border had ceased with the traffic's ending, and Alrea's nine-year-old body had been pushed to its limit. Her running faltered, and she stumbled then fell to the ground. She put an arm out to hit the ground first, so as to break her slip, but her hand met an upturned rock instead. Gritting her teeth, Alrea clenched her wrist trying to stop the bleeding and keep her mind off the pain. She rolled on the ground, whimpering on the inside, for what seemed like forever, thinking only about how things had gone from so good that day, to so very, very bad. She had lost everything now. Her sister was gone. What was she to do? Why would Becca leave her?_

_A single tear escaped her willpower's hold, and it slid down her cheek in one, graceful, mournful streak. Alrea lay silently then, her ear to the earth as she remembered something Becca had once said; "When nothing is going your way, and everything seems lost, stop. Be still. And if you listen to the earth, you can hear its heart beating. If you try this and you are one of the few who _do _hear it, only then will you be able to understand the meaning of all things." Alrea sighed shakily, trying to release all of her desperation, and stilled so that her breathing was shallow and soft- barely audible- and her heartbeat slow and gentle. For a moment she heard nothing, and the little girl's hopeful heart wrenched in her chest, but then- a dull, muffled thrumming reached her. It was not a sound that could ever be heard to the ears, but she heard it all the same. It felt like it was in her head and heart, throbbing comfort to her tired bones and peace to a sorrow-racked mind. Alrea almost grinned from ear to ear in sheer joy. Becca had been right._

_Suddenly, a sound the girl had not heard before because she was rushing so much traveled over the ground and through the earth's pulsing heart to her consciousness. It was faint, but not far off. Someone nearby was crying- quietly, yes- but loud enough for one desperate girl to hear. And this girl would have known that voice anywhere out of a million others._

_Alrea threw herself into a kneeling position; her ear trained on that one, faint sound. She stood up completely, and lost the sound. Freezing where she was, she closed her eyes tight and _reached_ around for it, searching for that one particular noise. And she got it. Walking slowly then, so as not to lose her signal again, step by silent step, she followed her ears and instinct to where they led._

_No normal nine year old could have done this, Alrea knew. No normal nine year old would have tried. They would have stayed home and cried, but not Alrea. Despite the fact that she was… special… she was always _that_ much quicker in mind than her peers. _That_ much more creative, clever, or bright. And they had always hated her for it. No matter her famous title, they shunned her._

What about now?_ Alrea thought with disdain, _What do you think of me now? Do you know what I can do? Have you seen what has happened to us because of me?_ Angry thoughts clouded her mind, and the sound she followed wavered and started to fade from her recognition. She clung to it, and shut out her hateful memories in order to save her sister. Little by little, though, the sound got slowly louder, and Alrea could move faster and still here it. Adrenaline kicked in, replenishing the strength she'd lost with a temporary but powerful boost, and she rushed on, knowing she was getting closer and closer with each passing second._

_Not more than two minutes had passed since Alrea had first heard the sound of her sister crying then she was standing in front of a very inconspicuous building that was so plain if you looked away from it for just a moment, you would forget everything about it until you looked back. The nine year old stared up at the door in front of her. It was plain as day wasn't night that her sister was beyond that door; her sobbing was very audible beyond it. Taking a deep breath, the girl looked around her in the alley, which is where the entryway she'd found was located, and searched for something she could use to get in through the door. (She had checked; it was most definitely locked.) In less than a moment, she spotted a rusted, old piece of metal that was flat for the most part, but too thick to be slid through the side of the door. Alrea picked it up anyway, weighing it in her hand and sizing it up. It was probably two feet long, give or take, and less than an eighth of an inch thick. With a grim smile, she but one end of the bar beneath her shoes foot, and stepped down as hard as she could. Grunting, she put her mind and power into the metal, and willed it to bend. Agonizingly slowly, it did so, and soon enough Alrea had a crowbar-like item._

_Stepping up to the door once more, she fit the tool by the first hinge and pulled back with all the strength she had remaining. The metal pin seemed to fight back, trying its hardest to stay in place, but Alrea in all her hope and despair won in the end, and the pin '_chinked_' to the ground. A sigh of weariness escaped the girl's lips, and a drop of sweat trickled down her brow. She repeated the first process with the other two hinges, the third one straining her aching muscles and willpower almost to its limit before it too fell to the alley floor._

_Alrea threw her makeshift crowbar to the end of the lane, and glared at that opposing door with earnest adamancy. It still stood only because it was balanced and had been standing in the same place day after day, year after year, for a decade at least. The nine year old, rolled up her already short sleeves, and putting all of her hatred, grief, anger, and desolation into one point in her chest, threw her entire bodyweight at the door's one side where the hinges once had been. The door creaked and protested, almost pushing back, and sweat beaded and fell down the poor girl's forehead in all her weary pain. In quailing panic, Alrea hurled all her power at the door along with one last push of her shoulder. A rush of heat then chill, the screech of breaking metal, and a rush of wind met the little girl as she slumped to the ground in exhaustion. Her vision went black for a few moments, until she regained mentality and control over her trembling body. The girl knew it wanted to collapse completely and just blackout in order to recover, but her will was much stronger than her pain._

_Squinted ice-blue eyes rose and looked up through a haze of pain and smoke into the room Alrea had reached. Those eyes widened, and the girl's jaw dropped. Somebody screamed, and it took Alrea a few moments before she knew it was herself._

A sixteen-year-old girl sat bolt upright in bed, throwing the covers to the floor, body and clothes drenched in cold sweat. Dark brown hair was half-pasted to her head and face, and her whole body trembled as though she had just used up all her strength and was spent. Which she had, only it had been seven years ago. And she had just relived the day in a dream.

The much older Alrea heaved a heavy-laden sigh, and rested her head in a hand while leaning forward slightly in weariness. This was probably the trillionth time she had awoken in the middle of the night, her past coming back to haunt her ever since that dreadful day when she had found… The girl shuddered at the recollection, not from fear or disgust, but from rage. The rest of the memory flooded her mind and played like a movie behind her closed eyelids.

_The room itself was as plain as the rest of the building, but was furnished oddly; first of all, there was a queen-sized bed at the right, nothing fancy, it was simple enough, but the covers were all messed up as if it had been a rough night. (If you know what I mean.) To the left was a single chair, obviously not made for comfort, which was bolted to the floor as if the owner was afraid it would jump up and run away. But what had made the poor nine-year-old scream was the occupant of that chair- her older sister- bound to the chair with ropes tied so tight her feet and hands were tinged bluish-purple. The woman whose smile could once have made your day, looked up from her captive position- her face turned white from current pain and past fear, while dark bruises stood out on her cheeks where she had obviously been hit. Becca's eyes widened in surprise at hearing a scream, then seeing her little, nine-year-old sister slumped in the doorway, then those eyes widened evermore as her expression changed to fear._

"_Get out of here, get out!" she shouted, struggling behind her bonds, "Run! Get away from this place!" Alrea shook her head ever so slightly and oh so very slowly, eyebrows furrowed. Why was her sister yelling at her? Wasn't she proud that she had come to rescue her? And what was she doing here anyway?_

"_No," she whispered, her voice raspy and oh so very tired, "You have to come with me. I'll get you out of here and we can go back home like this never happe-"_

"_You don't understand!" Becca screeched, eyes filling with tears as she shook her head emphatically, "H-he'll come back and he'll kill you, too! Besides, someone must have heard you break that door down, and they'll figure out your secret! They'll take you away and…and… You, you just… YOU HAVE TO GET AWAY!" The twenty year old thrashed against the ropes tying her to the chair, but to no avail except for further bruised arms and legs. She suddenly stopped and coughed, almost wheezing-like, attempting to clutch at her stomach. _Why did she say "kill you **too**"? _the girl thought, confused, then something in her head clicked as her eyes adjusted to the dimmer light. And iIt was only then that Alrea realized that Becca's shirt was stained red on the front, and it was getting darker by the second. _Blood, _she knew,_ it's blood. That son of a gun stabbed my sister and left her here to slowly bleed to death.

"_Who's 'he?'" Alrea asked, trying both to keep her sister's mind off her horrible wound and give herself time to figure things out. Didn't Becca know how hard she had tried to get here? Didn't she realize how hard it was to find her?_

"_Th-the man who kidnapped me and brought me here to…to…" she shuddered violently and turning her face away threw up on the floor next to the chair. "He left not long ago, b-but he'll be back! I know he will! He said so and when he sees you he'll kill you, too, or sell you or do something else really horrible and I won't be able to take it oh it's my fault my fault…" Hysterical tears stained the young woman's cheeks and Alrea realized that whatever that man had done to her, (besides stab her in the gut and leave her for dead) had twisted her mind and scared the living daylights out of her._

"_I can get you out of there and we can go." She tried to explain as calmly as possible. Why couldn't Becca see what she was saying? "That way we're long gone before he gets back, and we'll be able to find you a healer…" Becca shook her head slowly, her face paling further. The blood on her front was seeping through her pants and staining the ropes now, even._

"_We'll never make it. I'm dying, Alrea, I'm dying." That blunt statement, although the girl had already known it, was like a knife in _her_ stomach. "I might as well already be dead. Just leave, now. And perhaps you can save yourself." Alrea had shaken her head then, crawling slowly toward her dying sister. Once she had reached her, she lay a hand on her shaking knee, trying to give comfort. Becca leaned down as far as she could in her bonds, and Alrea kneeled up._

"_I love you Alrea," she whispered, her voice more faint than a breath of wind, "I pray you have a long, happy life. I'm sorry I won't be there to see it. But know…I…tried. I. Love…You." And all the air escaped her lungs, and one final gush of blood splurged the now dead woman's shirt and her lifeless body slumped in her chair._

_Tears streamlined down Alrea's cheeks, as her heart split in two and the halves tore each other apart inside her. She had lost everything now. Her parents had gone away when she was too young to know, and now some man had killed her sister. She was all alone. All alone._

_But Becca had wanted her to live on; her sister had known she was strong enough to do this now. And with her dying breath, had pleaded her to leave, to live on, to just _go_. And so she would. And she did. The little girl ran from that place taking with her only the clothes on her back and shoes on her feet. She ran home, confused and utterly sad. When she was finally old enough to realize why that man had _really _taken Becca in the first place, she hated all boys and men. She never went near them and if she accidentally did or had to, she never trusted them and simply loathed them with every fiber of her being. Day by day went by, and she lived on, caring for herself and going to school. Her peers at that town shunned her, and she soon ran away from that sad town completely. Alrea ran to a different one, where she was generally accepted. Until, after a few years of mostly- peaceful school and living by herself, someone in her class mad her angry and she got into a fight. The boy she'd fought was hurt extremely badly and Alrea was expelled. She ran off once more, knowing that she had been smarter than her teachers anyway, and hadn't learned squat from them. She didn't need school, she didn't need anybody. They could all choke on their own vomit and die for all she cared. But Alrea's kind spirit wouldn't let her think that way for long. She had just been emotionally unstable after her sister's dying right in front of her, and took a year to cool off completely, living in the woods by herself and learning how to stay alive off the wild. When she did come back into the world, it was as a wanderer who traveled from town to town showing off her talents on the side of the road for an extra few coins to pay for the next meal._

And she had been living that way three years now, and it had been working out fine. Her audience didn't need to know that her tricks were actually real, and the fire she was juggling in her hand wasn't an illusion, or that the pictures she drew in the smoke _were_ truly there. Alrea rubbed her hand over her eyes and rolled out of bed. She wouldn't be getting back to sleep tonight, she knew, and stumbled her way over to her cheap little wash basin and splashed her face with chillingly cold water. Shivering slightly, she threw her fallen covers back onto her bed and stretched her back and arms in order to fully wake. She would be leaving this cheap inn today, and she had a bit to do before she could officially leave.

With a sigh, the sixteen-year-old thought, _Today'll be another one of those long days._ And proceeded to strip off her nightclothes and rummage for some clean ones. As she did so, she skimmed over the memories she had re-experienced just a few moments ago. A weary, "why me?" sort of noise escaped her soft lips, and Alrea stopped what she was doing in order to rest against the side wall for just a moment. For the past three years, she had worn a mask of cheerfulness and upbeat humor, hiding away her grief and past-pain. She was sick of it. She wished more than anything else, to be able to have that all taken away, and have something placed in her life that will the huge hole in her heart where love and joy used to be. With her sister's death, all of her life had fallen apart, and she didn't know how to fix it on her own.

_It's all in the past, _Alrea thought for the umpteenth time, convincing herself once more that there was something bigger out there, and she was going to find it and meet it full-on, and maybe finally, her happiness would return. She hoped.

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**Author's Note: **How did you like it? Sorry it was so random… but I had to introduce the main character and explain her past before I could go on. Did I mess up anywhere? Did I miss something important? Are you confused at all? I would love to hear from you, so please please please review! Ask any questions you like, and comments would be very much appreciated. Criticism is also accepted, but don't hate me! This is my first fanfic! hides beneath arms Thank you! 


	2. New Meetings and Old Memories

Disclaimer: We all know that the TV show Avatar: The Last Airbender is a great one, which we all love, right? Well, guess what. I DO NOT own IT or ANY OF THE CHARACTERS. So suck it up and deal, you filthy peasant.

**C/A/N: **As a warning for this chapter, the Point of View changes… okay, only once. Anyway, so don't get confused! I put a little notey saying when the POV switches from one character to another, so it shouldn't be that difficult. Oh, by the way: the song lyrics from the last chapter are a modified excerpt from an LDS (Mormon) CD with the song title, "Broken." And by '_modified excerpt_,' I mean I tweaked the libretto in a few places, cut out and replaced a few words, and added my own verse to make it fit the story better. So nobody come after me with a flaming axe because I stole a Mormon song! I DIDN'T steal it! I credit them here. ;

Oh, and by the way; C-A-N stands for "Chapterly Author's Note." Just wanted to clear that up.

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Chapter Two: New Meetings and Old Memories 

Dressed and ready, Alrea stepped out of the inn with her duffle bag slung over one shoulder, quiver of arrows across the other, and little purse of money dangling around her neck. She wore simple Earth Kingdom clothing, which was the nation she was born in, if you didn't already know; a white shift on underneath a loose green tunic, and brown breeches tucked into the lip of shin-length, black, heel-less boots. Her mid-back length dark brown hair was pulled back, as was her norm, into a simple ponytail that swished and swayed with every step she took. She was the picture of relaxed gaiety, ice blue eyes simply gleaming with elation.

Alrea didn't have to walk far to her destination—the docks—for the inn at which she had stayed the night was the "Seaside Inn," a pathetic little place, but it was cheap and provided a bed for a few nights. Anyway, her plan was to sit down at a bench and wait awhile until her eavesdropping on nearby conversations brought news of a ship preparing to leave _now_ somewhere far away that she had not yet been to. She would then zero in on that particular craft and sneak onto it, stowing-away somewhere inside and waiting out the trip. This would provide her with a whole, new, untapped territory for her "illusions" business, a free ride there, and the bonus of not having to explain who she was, where she'd come from, and what exactly she was planning to do in such-and-such-a-place. It was the perfect strategy, until she ran into a passerby while she'd been lost in thought.

And I mean literally _ran into_.

"Hey, watch where you're going you numbskull!" burst from her lips before she'd even had a chance to reorient herself or see whom it was she'd nearly knocked over. When her head finally had cleared, a somewhat tall, but still shorter than her, figure in blue came into focus.

"I-I'm sorry," was all the person said. It was a girl of probably fourteen years, wearing the Water Tribe colors with her hair pulled back in a long braid. _She's cute, _Alrea thought, but with some satisfaction, _though _I'm _more developed. _Then surprised, she wondered, _Why do I care? I hate boys. They're retarded and think of nobody but themselves._ Re-convinced, she shook her head emphatically at the younger girl she'd nearly trampled.

"No, it's my fault. And I apologize for yelling at you. Are you alright?" The girl nodded.

"I'm fine," she replied with a smile, "I'm Katara, by the way. What's your name?" Alrea's mind kicked into gear fast, trying to think up a believable alias, but she dropped the idea. As far as she knew, this girl was being completely honest and kind with her, she owed it to her to do the same.

"Alrea," she answered simply, "of the Earth Kingdom town, Morrano." _Why did I use _that _town's name, _the sixteen year old shouted at herself in her mind, _they're the ones who expelled me when it was all that stupid BOY'S fault. _On the inside she was raging up an angry storm, but on the outside her face was neutral and calm, with a heart-warming smile on her lips. 'Katara' grinned back and held out her hand to shake while she asked, "Where were you going in such a hurry anyway?" Alrea's smile turned into a good-humored one and as she accepted the offered hand, she responded a bit sheepishly, "Nowhere, actually. I was planning on getting out of this town, but my plan was a little…stupid, so I abandoned it." Katara beamed.

"If you've got nowhere to go, why don't you come with us?" she invited and Alrea became confused.

"Who's us?" she queried, head cocked to one side. And not anytime too soon. Out of the corner of her eye, the sixteen year old saw a figure coming up fast, a trail of road-dust trailing behind it. She blinked, and in a whirl, the person sprinting faster than the wind was almost upon her. In instinct, she threw up her arms as he stopped abruptly, and let go of a bit of energy that was welled inside her. A burst of wind suddenly circled Alrea's body, protecting her from anything and everything. Outside of her swirling mass of gusts, the teen saw a boy in mostly goldish-yellow clothes standing calmly next to Katara as though nothing had happened, until he noticed Alrea. His mouth fell open, and he stared blankly. Whereas, Katara was still trying to swipe the dust off her clothes wondering where in the heck the sudden wind was coming from.

Alrea let go of her barrier of breezes, several beads of sweat escaping her brow and falling down her face. _Whether I have access to all four elements or not, _she thought wearily, _it is still almost impossible for me to control even _one _at any given time._ It was only then it hit her, that all the Airbenders in the world were supposed to be dead, and she had just used her Avatar-induced Airbending skills. Her mouth opened and closed, but no words came out as she struggled, blank-mindedly for an excuse.

"Er…" she began, not sounding very intelligent and beating herself up mentally for it, "I, uh…Strange weather we're having?" _Gosh darn, I hate it when I sound pathetic!_ Sending imaginary daggers at the new boy, she shouted at him with her mind. _This is all your fault, idiot. I hate you and your kind! You might as well be a different species from us girls. Why are you flippin' _here_ anyway? Just go away!_ The boy was oblivious to her mind-daggers though, as he continued to stare openmouthed. It was only then that Alrea realized the arrow-marks on his hands and head. Something in her head clicked.

"An Airbender?" she gasped, at the same time the boy had found his voice and said the exact thing. The boy grinned from ear to ear, obviously thrilled to have found another of his kind still alive. He ran up with the speed of only an Airbender can have, and threw his arms around her in a huge hug. Alrea blinked, eyes wide, staring at Katara unknowingly. _An Airbender…_ she thought, _but all the Airbenders were destroyed by the Fire Nation. That must mean he's the…!_ The teen's gaze fell on the shorter boy's arrow-marked head, and she simply stared as he hugged her, completely unaware. _So…there are two of us?_ She wondered in shock.

A very conspicuous cough from Katara snapped her out of her reverie, and she suddenly realized that she was hugging a _boy_. She pushed him away with some force, seeing how he was practically glued to her. The boy was simply radiating his happiness as she set him down back next to Katara.

"Where have you been? Are there any others with you? When did the Fire Nation come? How did you escape? Where's your bison? You do have one, don't you? How'd you get away?" those and a million other questions gushed out of the poor kid's mouth, as Alrea realized she would just have to put him down explaining she wasn't an Air Nomad. But before she could open her mouth to speak, Katara spoke up.

"This is Aang," she said, gesturing at him, her voice seemed calm enough, though she was obviously as confused as he had been. Alrea looked the boy over, determining that he was probably around twelve, and definitely an Airbender. He _had_ spoke of the traditional flying bison, anyhow.

"I-I'm sorry," Alrea said, with such a sad voice that Aang's mouth snapped shut instantly and no sound escaped his lips, "I am not… an Air Nomad…I'm sorry." Behind the boy's eyes, his soul shut down and Alrea could almost _feel_ his happiness fade away.

"I see," was all he said, looking down and away. But then he, too realized something. "Then, how did you-?" Though he was cut off by a shout behind Alrea's back.

"Hey!" The sixteen year old whirled around, to see another figure in blue racing toward them. It ended up being a boy, a little older than Aang and Katara, also obviously a Water Tribe kid. Alrea guessed he was about her age, maybe a year younger. He came up beside her, and rested his hands on his knees, bent over double as he continued panting.

"Never…ever…run off…like that…again…Aang." The boy rasped out between breaths, "Or…at least… warn me… next… time." Alrea almost bust-out laughing at this idiot boy, having sprinted all the way here after a kid probably three years younger than he, as if he were some nanny. But she contained herself. Barely.

"And this is my brother, Sokka," Katara introduced, her voice bored-sounding. But she returned to her light-hearted-ness right after. "These are the 'we' I was talking about earlier." She explained, though Alrea had already long since figured that out on her own. The 'Sokka' looked up at Alrea, as if finally realizing she was there. He stood up, eyes alight, and disgusted, the sixteen year old realized the boy obviously liked what he saw.

"This is Alrea," Katara continued, presenting her to her companions. Alrea graciously nodded her head, giving the same effect as someone who thought they were better than whom they were being introduced to. The younger Water Tribe girl pressed on, "So, Alrea…What is your answer? Are you going to travel with us?" Aang instantly brightened, obviously ecstatic to have a new person accompanying them, and Sokka couldn't stop staring at Alrea anyway, so it didn't matter. The older teen's mind was almost visibly smoking. _I haven't anywhere else to go…_ her mind cajoled, but the more cautious side countered, _but you don't know them. You just barely met them! And besides, there are two guys here we're talking about._

_Yes, _the first voice agreed, _but one of them is the Avatar and the other's sister is nice enough._

…_He's basically drooling._

_So? Is that not flattering?_

_No._

_Fine. But he's still Katara's brother, and she's a sweet girl._

…_Yes, but…_

_Becca never gave up on you!_ Alrea's mind reeled. Was she crazy? Where the heck did these voices come from? _Are you going to just abandon this other girl with two, wretched males! Becca would be ashamed._

That settled it. Through her whole, inner/self-conversation—though it only lasted a second or two —Aang and Katara had time to exchange a glance that said, "She's going to say 'no,' isn't she?"

"Sounds good to me," Alrea finally answered, a smile on her face. Surprised, she knew that it wasn't one of her fake ones. Sokka basically melted in joy, eyes still fixated on her face in the idiotic puppy-crush way of the teenage boy. Aang and Katara just smiled their joy and appreciation, the younger boy taking her hand and starting off with her; probably leading her where their camp was. Looking up at the sky, Alrea realized it was getting late, and her former plan was useless by now so she decided to stay with this group of kids and offer her skills and…gifts…in exchange for their hospitality. A smile crept upon her face as she ignored Sokka who trailed behind her; this is what she had been missing for the past seven years since Becca died right before her. She had been missing the companionship of others, and now that she had it…she didn't know what to do with it but enjoy it! Alrea looked at the back of Aang's head as he basically dragged her along, then glanced at Katara running beside them with a smile on her face, too. Then at Sokka, momentarily distracted from Alrea, was trying to dislodge a big-eared white creature with wings on its arms and big green eyes. Alrea, already in a good mood, couldn't contain her laughter at his predicament. He then looked over, though, and blushed scarlet.

Alrea looked back to the front of her, and Aang turned back toward her as she did. He grinned and stuck out his tongue, challenging her to a race. Dropping her hand, he sprinted off with the wind at his back, kicking up dust in his wake. Katara and Sokka coughed, shielding their eyes and yelling after him to come back. Alrea grinned fiercely; she would not lose to a _boy_, let alone a twelve-year-old one. She ran off after him, using his own technique against him and also shifting the earth beneath her to speed her on her way. She soon caught the little Airbender and tapped him on the shoulder as she passed. But in her mirth she realized that she didn't know where she was going anyway, so she stopped and stuck out her arm to catch Aang as he tried to run past. It worked, and she caught him right in the chest and knocked the wind out of him. Looking down with one eyebrow raised she smirked.

"We should let Katara and Sokka catch up," she commented nonchalantly, picking dust off her sleeve in a joking way. Aang beamed at her from his position on the ground, marveling at how quickly she had been accepted into their group, and how quickly she had settled in as one of them. They laughed together as the other two Water Tribe kids finally caught up to them, Sokka too tired to complain and Katara shouting at Aang for being so reckless. Alrea had to hold onto her sides to keep from heaving over laughing.

* * *

**Zuko's POV:**

Not all that far away, amidst the foam-crested waves of the sea, Zuko leaned against the side of his ship enjoying the fine weather as best an aggravated teenaged Firebender could. He took a deep breath of the ocean air through his nose and let it out slowly, trying to calm himself. It had been three days since he'd last seen the Avatar's bison in the sky. Either they'd found somewhere to land, (_highly likely, _Zuko thought,) they turned around in the dead of night to elude him, (_not as likely. The Avatar has to master all four elements, does he not? Then he would have to go to the North Pole to do so. And turning around would _not_ get him there,_ Zuko assumed smugly,) or… he could not think of any other reason. Slamming his hand down on the railing, the banished Prince tried to contain his anger at his having not yet captured the Avatar. _Why can't I find him?_, he raged in his mind, trying hard not to melt through the railing, _It's all that I have left anymore…_ Zuko let himself slide into a depressed sort of position, with him resting his weight on his forearms against the side of the ship. His anger faded into a sadness that overpowered his senses for the first time in a long while; _luckily no one is up here to see me,_ he reasoned dismally. Letting out a shaky sigh, he would not let himself cry. Ever since his banishment, all he had were his sardonic uncle and this stupid quest for the Avatar that would redeem him of his honor. All the childhood he had ever known-- _if you could call it that, _Zuko thought bitterly—was of his father's raging temper and somebody getting hurt, usually his mother who tried so hard to protect him. Why did he want that back? He wondered on that question; maybe it was because it was all he'd ever known. But all he'd ever wanted?

Straightening up, Zuko could have slapped himself in his weakness. He had no reason to be distressed, it was only a matter of time until he had the Avatar and all would be as it should have been before his banishment. It was all his own fault anyway, for speaking out in that meeting when he should have kept his freakin' mouth shut!

"Prince Zuko," his uncle Iroh called, breaking him out of his reverie, "We have found the Avatar." That was enough for him; he was already turning around and walking towards his uncle asking "Are you sure?" before Iroh could take another breath. The older man smiled.

"Would I lie to you?" Zuko glared.

"It would probably depend on the situation, but yes. You would." Iroh sighed, shaking his head at his nephew. So much happened in his young life… he was always so serious as of late.

"I'm not now, Prince Zuko," he assured, leading the way to the front room of the ship where the captain was steering. Upon entering the room, the banished teen saw only a table with two chairs settled around it and a map laid out on top of it, the captain at the helm, (wheel, whatever,) and…not much else of interest. So, taking a chair at the table after nodding a greeting to the captain, Zuko waited for Iroh to speak. And so he did.

"We have heard from some insiders at a nearby island, that they have seen a group of teens that match the descriptions of the Avatar and his little gang." As the retiree spoke he pointed to a fairly large island within a league or two from where they approximately were at sea.

"Why haven't we set a course?" Zuko demanded, recognizing he'd not felt the ship change direction all day. Iroh smiled, his eyes showing he was laughing inside.

"There was no need, Prince Zuko," he explained, glad he knew something his nephew didn't, "we were already headed for that island anyway. Seeing how there is a fair number of our spies there, and how it is the nearest to us out of the…scarce others, we were already going to replenish supplies there before we found out about the Avatar being there. Isn't that just a nice coincidence for us?" Zuko blinked that he had not realized this earlier.

"Of course," though, was all he said, then with a simple, serious nod and firm 'good work' to the captain, he turned on his heel and left the hold. Iroh sighed and let him go, he needed to roll up the map anyway. _And after that I will get some tea…_ he thought contentedly, _I wonder if we still have some ginseng. It is my favorite!_

Zuko, above deck, had removed his armor and shirt; placing the former on a nearby bench and the latter on a hook nearby resting on the wall. Standing calmly, he took deep breaths through his nose, and exhaled through his mouth; preparing himself for training. Facing the stern of the ship in a simple battle-ready position, he knew he had to rid himself of some emotions. Thoughts returning to the… queer _daydream_ he'd had earlier, he sort of nodded slightly to himself as a sort of reassurance. Yes. He _definitely_ needed to get some emotions out.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Was that okay? Sorry it took so long… Please review, though! I very much appreciate them. –gives muffins to all— 


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